New Policy On Distance Learning In Higher Education Sector

In aftereffect to the advertisement of 100 canicule calendar of HRD of admiral by Hon’ble Human Resources development Minister, a New Action on Ambit Acquirements In College Apprenticeship Sector was drafted.

BACKGROUND

1. In agreement of Entry 66 of Account 1 of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India, Parliament is competent to accomplish laws for the allocation and assurance of standards in institutions for college apprenticeship for research, and accurate and abstruse institutions. Parliament has allowable laws for absolution this albatross through: the University Grants Commission (UGC) for accepted College Education, the All India Council for Abstruse Apprenticeship (AICTE) for Abstruse Education; and added Approved bodies for added disciplines. As commendations college education, through the ambit mode, Indira Gandhi Civic Accessible University (IGNOU) Act, 1985 was allowable with the afterward two prime objectives, a part of others: (a) To board opportunities for college apprenticeship to a ample articulation of population, abnormally disadvantaged groups active in bound and rural areas, adults, housewives and alive people; and (b) to animate Accessible University and Ambit Apprenticeship Systems in the educational arrangement of the country and to alike and actuate the standards in such systems.

2. The history of ambit acquirements or apprenticeship through ambit approach in India, goes way aback if the universities started alms apprenticeship through ambit approach in the name of Accord Courses through their Directorate/School of Accord Education. In those days, the courses in abstract and/or in business were offered through accord and taken by those, who, attributable to assorted reasons, including bound amount of seats in approved courses, employability, problems of admission to the institutions of college acquirements etc., could not get themselves enrolled in the accepted `face-to-face’ approach `in-class’ programmes.

3. In the contempo past, the appeal for college apprenticeship has added awfully throughout the country because of acquaintance about the acceptation of college education, admitting the arrangement of college apprenticeship could not board this anytime accretion demand.

4. Beneath the circumstances, a amount of institutions including accounted universities, clandestine universities, accessible (Government) universities and even added institutions, which are not empowered to accolade degrees, acquire started cashing on the bearings by alms ambit apprenticeship programmes in a ample amount of disciplines, alignment from abstract to engineering and administration etc., and at altered levels (certificate to under-graduate and post-graduate degrees). There is consistently a crisis that some of these institutions may become `degree mills’ alms sub- standard/poor superior education, appropriately acerbic the believability of degrees and added abilities awarded through the ambit mode. This calls for a far college amount of allocation a part of the anxious approved authorities, primarily, UGC, AICTE and IGNOU and its ascendancy – the Ambit Apprenticeship Council (DEC).

5. Government of India had antiseptic its position in account of accepting of degrees, becoming through the ambit mode, for application beneath it vide Gazette Notification No. 44 anachronous 1.3.1995.

6. Despite the risks referred to in para 4 above, the acceptation of ambit apprenticeship in accouterment superior apprenticeship and training cannot be ignored. Ambit Approach of apprenticeship has an important role for:

(i)providing befalling of acquirements to those, who do not acquire absolute admission to face to face teaching, alive persons, house-wives etc.

(ii)providing befalling to alive professionals to amend their knowledge, enabling them to switchover to new disciplines and professions and acceptable their abilities for career advancement.

(iii)exploiting the abeyant of Advice and Communication Technology (ICT) in the teaching and acquirements process; and

(iv)achieving the ambition of 15% of GER by the end of 11th Plan and 20% by the end of 12th 5 year Plan.

7. In adjustment to acquittal the Constitutional albatross of assurance and aliment of the standards in College Education, by ensuring allocation a part of assorted approved authoritative authorities as aswell to ensure the advance of accessible and ambit apprenticeship arrangement in the country to accommodated the aspirations of all cross-sections of humans for college education, the afterward action in account of ambit acquirements is laid down:

(a) In adjustment to ensure able allocation in adjustment of standards of college apprenticeship in altered disciplines through assorted modes [i.e. face to face and distance] as aswell to ensure believability of degrees/diploma and certificates awarded by Indian Universities and added Apprenticeship Institutes, an acme body, namely, Civic Commission for College Apprenticeship and Analysis shall be accustomed in band with the recommendations of Prof. Yash Pal Committee/National Ability Commission. A Standing Committee on Accessible and Distance

Education of the said Commission, shall undertake the job of coordination, assurance and aliment of standards of apprenticeship through the ambit mode. Pending enactment of this body:

(i) Alone those programmes, which do not absorb all-encompassing applied advance work, shall be permissible through the ambit mode.

(ii) Universities / institutions shall anatomy ordinances / regulations / rules, as the case may be, spelling out the outline of the programmes to be offered through the ambit approach advertence the amount of adapted credits, account of courses with assigned credits, account references in accession to cocky acquirements material, hours of study, acquaintance classes at abstraction centres, assignments, assay and appraisal process, allocation etc.

(iii) DEC of IGNOU shall alone appraise the adequacy of university/institute in account of administering ambit apprenticeship programmes by a aggregation of experts, whose address shall be placed afore the Council of DEC for consideration.

(iv) The approval shall be accustomed alone afterwards application by Council of DEC and not by Chairperson, DEC. For the purpose, minimum amount of binding diplomacy of DEC may be prescribed.

(v) AICTE would be directed beneath area 20 (1) of AICTE Act 1987 to ensure accreditation of the programmes in Computer Sciences, Advice Technology and Administration advised to be offered by an institute/university through the ambit mode, by Civic Board of Accreditation (NBA).

(vi) UGC and AICTE would be directed beneath area 20 (1) of their corresponding Acts to anatomy abundant regulations prescribing standards for assorted programmes/courses, offered through the ambit approach beneath their mandate,

(vii) No university/institute, except the universities accustomed by or beneath an Act of Parliament/State Legislature afore 1985, shall action any programme through the ambit mode, henceforth, after approval from DEC and accreditation by NBA. However, the universities/institutions already alms programmes in Humanities, Commerce/Business/Social Sciences/Computer Sciences and Advice Technology and Management, may be accustomed to continue, accountable to the action to admission beginning approval from DEC and accreditation from NBA aural one year, declining which they shall acquire to abandon the programme and the absolute onus with account to the bookish career and banking losses of the accepting enrolled with them, shall be on such institutions/universities.

(viii) In ablaze of ascertainment of Acme Court, ex-post-facto approval accepted by any ascendancy for ambit apprenticeship shall not be honoured and accepted henceforth. However, the universities accustomed by or beneath an Act of apprenticeship programmes in the streams of Humanities/Commerce/Social Sciences afore the year 1991 shall be afar from this policy.

(ix) The accepting who acquire been awarded degrees through ambit approach by the universities after demography above-mentioned approval of DEC and added approved bodies, shall be accustomed one chance, provided they fulfil the claim of minimum standards as assigned by the UGC, AICTE or any added accordant Approved Ascendancy through Regulation, to arise in examinations in such affidavit as absitively by the university appointed to conduct the examination. If these accepting authorize in this examination, the university anxious shall affair a certificate. The amount forth with the said condoning affidavit may be recognised for the purpose of employment/promotion beneath Central Government.

(x) A description shall be issued with advertence to Gazette Notification No. 44 anachronous 1.3.1995 that it shall not be applicative on to the degrees/diplomas awarded by the universities accustomed by or beneath an Act of Parliament or State Legislature afore 1985, in the streams of Humanities/Commerce and Social Sciences.

(b) All universities and institutions alms programmes through the ambit approach shall charge to acquire above-mentioned recognition/approval for alms such programmes and accreditation from appointed competent authority, mandatorily in account of the programmes offered by them. The violators of this shall be accountable for adapted amends as assigned by law. The universities/institutions alms apprenticeship through ambit approach and begin complex in cheating of students/people by giving wrong/false advice or wilfully suppressing the advice shall aswell be dealt with carefully beneath the chastening accoutrement of law.

(c) The universities / institutes shall acquire their own abstraction centres for face to face counselling and abatement of difficulties as aswell to seek added bookish and authoritative assistance. Franchising of ambit apprenticeship by any university, institutions whether accessible or clandestine shall not be allowed.

(d ) The universities /institutions shall alone action such programmes through ambit approach which are on action on their campuses through accepted mode. In case of accessible universities, they shall necessarily acquire the adapted departments and commonsense above-mentioned to alms accordant programmes through ambit mode.

(e) It would be binding for all universities and apprenticeship institutions alms ambit apprenticeship to use Advice and Communication Technology (ICT) in supply of their programmes, administration of the apprentice and university diplomacy through a web aperture or any added such platform. The said belvedere shall invariably, affectation in accessible domain, the advice about the approved and added approvals forth with added all-important advice about the programmes on action through ambit mode, their accreditation and accepting enrolled, year- wise, etc. This may be affiliated to a civic database, as and if created, to facilitate the stakeholders to yield a appearance on the accepting of the degrees for the purpose of bookish following or application with/under them.

(f) All universities/education institutions shall accomplish optimal use of e-learning capacity for delivery/offering their programmes through ambit mode. They shall aswell be encouraged/required to acquire e-surveillance technology for conduct of clean, fair and cellophane examinations.

(g) The focus of ambit apprenticeship shall be to board befalling of apprenticeship to humans at educationally disadvantaged situations such as active in bound and rural areas, adults with no or bound admission to apprenticeship of their best etc.

(h) In adjustment to advance adjustable and charge based learning, choice-based acclaim arrangement shall be answer and all ODE institutions shall be encouraged to acquire this arrangement and advance a apparatus for accepting and alteration of credits of the courses auspiciously completed by accepting in contiguous or ambit mode. For the purpose, enactment of a acclaim coffer may be considered. Similarly, accepted universities, alms face to face approach programmes shall be encouraged to acquire the credits becoming by the accepting through ambit mode. A about-face over from anniversary to division arrangement shall be essential.

(i) Convergence of the contiguous approach teaching departments of accepted universities with their ambit apprenticeship directorates/correspondence advance wings as aswell with accessible universities/institutions alms ambit education, shall be afflicted aloft to arch the gap in ambit and accepted contiguous approach of education.

(j) Reputed Adopted apprenticeship providers able-bodied established, accustomed and accepted by competent ascendancy in their country and accommodating to action their apprenticeship programmes in India shall be allowed, accountable to the accomplishment of the acknowledged claim of the country.

(k) A Civic Advice and Communication Technology basement for networking of ODE institutions shall be created beneath Civic Mission on Apprenticeship through Advice and Communication Technology.

(m) Training and acclimatization programmes for educators and administrators in ODE arrangement with focus on use of ICT and self-learning practice, shall be encouraged.

(n) ODE institutions shall be encouraged to yield affliction the educational needs of learners with disabilities and chief citizens.

(o) An official notification allegorical the affair of accepting of bookish qualification, becoming through ambit mode, for the purpose of employment, shall be issued.

(p) A apparatus shall be set up for appraisal of degrees of adopted universities for the purpose of bookish following as able-bodied as for application beneath the Central Government. This may cover the appraisal of the accreditation of the university anxious as aswell to analysis the adequacy of the amount holder, if needed.